A sample of my collection

[Chip Collector]

Following my list of casinos in response to Andrea's request, I am posting some of my collection of Aruba casino items, following the same list. I am trying to include many different types of collectibles and not just casino chips. Also, I may include more than one from a casino, just for fun.

Of course, I am always interested in adding more stuff to my collection in case anyone has any casino stuff lying around.

So, here we go.

Starting with 9 LG Smith:

The casino started life as the Harbourtown. I will start with the focus of my collection, a casino chip. I really like the chips from Harbourtown.



Here is a slot token:

[Chip Collector]

Then it became the Seaport. Here is a roulette chip from there:



And a playing card:



Usually, I collect whole decks of cards, but I have this one.

[Chip Collector]

82 LG Smith has only housed one casino, the elegant Crystal Casino. I have tons of stuff from there, but I will only post a couple. Here is a key chain from the Crystal and Seaport:



And a rather common chip, but it's a nice one:

[Chip Collector]

Now another 1 casino location, 101 LG Smith, home of the Stellaris Casino. Here is a recent players (slot) card:



Once again, I have much, but nothing so unusual. So, onto the next location.

[Chip Collector]

At 45 JE Irasquin sits the most unusual casino, one that has no affiliation with any hotel, The Alhambra. I like it's casual, fun atmosphere. And, of course, I miss the handshake at the door.

I also love this card design:



Great, and unique color choices!

Here's an old pair of dice from there. The only dice I have seen from Aruba that do not have the work "Aruba" anywhere on them.

[Chip Collector]

Here at 77 JE Irasquin, we begin to have some variety. It started life as the Concord. I have heard that in its early days, it catered to wealthy South American visitors (though I don't really know).

I have some great stuff from there, but I will start with some dice:



Though I have playing cards (and a matchbook) that were probably contemporaries with those dice, these playing cards date back to around the time the Concorde first opened, and could have been the first design. The diamond design that houses the casino name is pretty unusual in my experience:

[Chip Collector]

Sorry, this will take some time to complete, maybe not all today.

In any case, the Hilton took over. They called the casino the Casablanca, but still managed to get their name in on occasion:



I have never seen one of those tournament chips that was not notched. In fact, I don't know if they ever really used those chip or if those are manufacturer's samples. A nice chip, though.

Here is a slot token they did use:



You can see by looking at the back that the casino was already called the Casablanca:

[Chip Collector]

After the Hilton, it remained the Casablanca and has remained that way, although a name change is planned for its re-opening in a few weeks. Here is a token they used for a promotion:



There is a plastic and a metal version, this one is metal. Here is a token from the same type of promotion:



Here are some dice used when the hotel was the Wyndham. Strangely, the casino name is not on them:



I have decks of cards with the Wyndham name on them, too. I don't think I have any that say, "Casablanca." They were still called the Casablanca, though, and all of their chips said so. Man, I wish I had one of the chips they used in their poker tournaments. They were beautiful!

[Chip Collector]

At 79 JE Irasquin, the casino name changed constantly. I doubt I will get through them today. But, let's start. First, it was the Aruba-Sheraton. Plain looking chips, but they had fun looking matchbooks:



Here is a slot token from 1968. It is in proof condition:



For a year, it became the Grand Casino. If you look closely at the bottom, you can see that this slot token was from the Grand:



I do not believe there are any chips in any collector's hands that say the Grand's name, but there is an order card from a chip manufacturer.

[Chip Collector]

After the Grand, it became the Hart Casino or the Hart Aruba-Sheraton. I like the chips:



The tokens from that time, though, just say Aruba-Sheraton. Next, it became the Aruba Palm Beach. Although the higher denominations are very easy to find, the $1 chips has so far eluded me!

Here is there unusual looking slot token: